The road ‘leads us to Athens’

SIR, – It has been noticeable that nationalists increasingly blame our fiscal position (i.e. the worst in Europe) on the mismanagement of the UK.

I think perhaps there might be something to this position – there is of course no reason why Scotland, with our abundance of talent and resources, should be running a deficit at all (the oil crash aside), but the reasons we do so are clear – the country simply spends more than it makes, and has done for many years.

The NHS, schools, free university, prescriptions, funded childcare and whatever new benefits the SNP come up with all cost money. Our economic base is not large enough (or at least, not taxed enough) to cover our expansive state – hence we run a deficit. From a certain point of view, it is a benefit of the union that Scotland does not have to account for this public largesse – the UK papers over our deficit spending without requiring Scotland to slash services or raise taxes (as any other country would have to do). It is, however, unhealthy for a country with any pretensions of statehood to be happy with this state of affairs. This brings me back to the point of blaming our fiscal position on the UK – that is all very well, but what is the solution of the nationalist and the SNP? Nationalists and the SNP speak a good game, but on the most important issue that an independent Scotland would have to account for (our structural deficit) all we get is more spending, more middle class welfare and more state.

This road is well travelled and it currently leads through Athens. Ricky Simpson, Mains View,

Westhill.

The union “dividend" that is so often portrayed as the major reason for remaining part of the UK, appears to be somewhat one-sided. Perhaps independence, with all its warts, might be preferential